The Writer's Center Workshop Registration

Register for The Writer's Center workshops! Members, please log in to view the member rate. Please note that it may take our website up to 2 days to process a new membership. New members may not be able to view member-discounted prices during that time. Please view our refund policybefore you register. If you have accessibility needs, please review our accommodations and servicesand let us know how we can assist you prior to the workshop start date.

Workshop Leader: Jacqueline JulesIs your poem ready to meet the world? Or would a little feedback help you craft something more powerful? Revise your poems and learn submission tips with an award-winning poet whose work has appeared in over 100 journals and ...

Workshop Leader: Kathryn JohnsonYou have a great idea for a story. Do you dive in and just begin writing, or start by drafting an outline? Are you a born planner or a writer who loves to discover stories organically (i.e., a pantser)? Understanding how to structure a...

Workshop Leader: Beth KanterThe stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day can be the most wonderful time of the year for writers. Stories hide everywhere be it in fraught family dinners, rejected traditions, failed gift swaps, quiet conversations while the kids ...

Workshop Leader: Victoria KellyFacing a blank page can be one of the hardest things about writing. But the beginning of your story or novel will often determine whether a reader keeps reading. Bring your first page to this workshop, or come to learn from scratch.Participants will ...

Workshop Leader: Alyce MillerThis special workshop is designed specifically for advanced writers, interested in publishing or taking their work to the next step, who would like to share revised work that could benefit from “fresh eyes” and feedback before sending it off or sharing with ...

Workshop Leader: Hank WallaceLead with the future -- not background. That's the most important of eight journalism skills that will transform your writing. The others: write your readers' language, be positive (to be both clear and upbeat), lay out logica...

Workshop Leader: Alyce MillerThe best way to hone your writing is to read, read, read. In this one-day session, participants will focus on discussing specific readings through the lens of craft elements to see how other writers manage point of view, time, place, character, dialo...

Workshop Leader: Sue Ellen ThompsonPoets who are putting together their first chapbook or full-length book often agonize over what they can do to make their manuscript “hang together” and grab the attention of an editor or contest judge. But there is no one approach to arranging ...

Workshop Leader: Brenda W. CloughVampires, zombies, and halflings with swords! Participants will build a world and write in it. The first session of this workshop will be devoted to the basics of fiction and story construction. In the second session, participants will do a ...

Workshop Leader: Pat McNeesThrough a series of exercises designed to open a rich vein of personal material, you will begin the exploration and storytelling that may help you tell your personal life story.

Workshop Leader: Khris BaxterThese are exciting times to be a screenwriter. With more shows and television channels than ever, the opportunities for inventive ways of storytelling increase daily. This hands-on workshop will guide beginning and intermediate screenwriters t...

Workshop Leader: Katie DavisLearn the skills of writing for the ear, then put it into practice. A veteran radio broadcaster will guide you through listening to great radio, in-class writing, and editing. By the end, participants will have a polished radio story/essay and...

Workshop Leader: Rose StrodeIn literature and myth, winter is often portrayed as a symbol for death, while spring is considered a time of joyful rebirth. Yet both seasons offer beauty and danger, while the transition between the two can be particularly precarious -- for wi...

Workshop Leader: Rose StrodeNearly everyone attempts to write a love poem at some point: a poem to a beloved person; a poem about love; or a poem about the loss of love. Love is never the only emotion in a love poem: it may also contain joy, regret, gratitude, anger, grief, or b...

Workshop Leader: Laura Di FrancoWhat if there's something you haven't learned yet that could change everything? Participants of this course will learn powerful tools that allow them to use writing as a path to healing and happiness. Writers will explore the topics of...

Workshop Leader: Alyce MillerShort stories are one of the most popular and complicated literary forms, but a lot of fun to write. NOTE: Instructor will email specific information and instructions several days before class.

Workshop Leader: John LinganFrom poetry to fiction to reportage, the first-person voice can create an incredible intimacy between writers and readers. In this cross-genre class, participants will discuss ways to build that intimacy and read examples of how i...

Workshop Leader: Alexandra VietsDrawing from films, short stories, and plays, this intensive eight-week workshop in screenwriting will emphasize character as True North, the fixed point to which a writer can always refer. Dramatic structure, visual wr...

Workshop Leader: Kenneth D. AckermanDo you have an idea for a history and biography book, or a manuscript in progress? This workshop takes a strategic approach to nailing down the concept and producing a publishing-quality manuscript best positioned for success. Part...

Workshop Leader: John DeDakisThis workshop offers a practical 16-point plan that takes you from the mere germ of an idea all the way through the creative process, with an eye on getting a finished book into the hands of potential fans. Participants will discus...

Workshop Leader: John DeDakisThis day-long workshop will deconstruct and demystify the novel-writing process for struggling and/or aspiring writers. Go all the way from getting the start of an idea to getting your book into the hands of expectant fans. Along the way you'l...

Workshop Leader: Peter MandelHaving a children's book published in today's tough market may seem like an impossible dream. But, in reality, getting your book idea into shape and into print can hinge on just the right advice from a pro. Do you need an agent? ...

Workshop Leader: John LinganWhether you're an accomplished nature writer or just trying to build the settings and scenes of your work, this class will explore the common practices and classic examples of the form. The short readings in this class will comprise fiction, ...

Workshop Leader: Sue Ellen ThompsonShould all lyric poems take place in the present? If you’re writing a narrative poem about something that happened a while ago, do you have to use the past tense? Verb tenses are something that most of us learned in grade school but have...

Workshop Leader: Richard WasherWhat does your audience need to know and when do they need to know it? In this workshop participants will consider various strategies for managing exposition in the context of process in writing a play (getting started, exploring a first draft...

Workshop Leader: Hildie BlockTake your writing to the next level with a deeper understanding of plot, tension, and quirky characters! This eight-week writing workshop will include workshopping peer stories in class as well as reading from the text Best American Short Stories ...

Workshop Leader: Beth KanterThis course is for individuals who want to tone up their writing muscles so they can go the distance. Classes begin with a short warm up exercise followed by a prompt for a longer piece. Participants will then focus on specifics like effectiv...

Workshop Leader: Virginia HartmanYou’re sick of sitting alone in your room. You want some feedback you can trust, and moreover, you want to see what other good writers are doing with their fiction. This workshop will gather together people of like minds, working hard and...

Workshop Leader: Pat McNeesThrough a series of exercises designed to open a rich vein of personal material, you will begin the exploration and storytelling that may help you tell your personal life story.

Workshop Leader: Marilyn W. SmithThis five day workshop (one week) is for writers of fiction or memoir who want to focus on strengthening their characters. An emphasis will be placed on the use of dialogue (direct, indirect, and internal) as one means to develop ch...

Workshop Leader: Alyce MillerOne of the oldest forms around, the personal essay is a prism of possibility, and an exciting way to render your own experience into literature. NOTE: Instructor will email specific information and instructions several days before class.

Workshop Leader: Melanie FiggHave some poems on life-support? All of us do. Poems that start out strong—and then stall for one reason or another. In this class, you’ll learn a variety of techniques and exercises that can breathe new life into your old drafts. A couple of you will volu...

Workshop Leader: John WeiskopfDo you want to produce or direct your own low-budget feature film? There are ingredients that are essential for keeping your budget low, and screenwriting elements that will make your original. Blood Simple and Breaking Ba...

Workshop Leader: John DeDakisThis workshop offers a practical 16-point plan that takes you from the mere germ of an idea all the way through the creative process, with an eye on getting a finished book into the hands of potential fans. Participants will discuss how ...

Workshop Leader: John DeDakisThis day-long workshop will deconstruct and demystify the novel-writing process for struggling and/or aspiring writers. Go all the way from getting the start of an idea to getting your book into the hands of expectant fans. Along the way y...

Workshop Leader: Kathryn JohnsonRevision is a dirty word to some writers. But you needn’t fear the challenges of polishing a manuscript before submission and publication. This fast-paced, half-day class focuses on the ten most common mistakes and concerns, often overlooked by au...

Workshop Leader: Lisa Jan ShermanAuthors become Readers! You will be guided to enjoy your own voice and confidant on stage in front of an audience. Aside from gaining practice in speaking and listening in a workshop setting, participants will learn relaxation tools and visualiz...

Workshop Leader: Kathryn JohnsonThis follow-up course to the popular Extreme Novelist is intended for writers serious about their publication goals. Participants will focus on revision and learn ways to avoid the most common issues that result in rejection. ...

Workshop Leader: John WeiskopfIn this seven-week workshop participants will write scenes and dialogue for a screenplay or teleplay which they are currently writing, or plan to write. Participants will present their dialogue for review and evaluation, ...

Workshop Leader: Alyce MillerA rare opportunity for more experienced essayists looking for a tune-up and camaraderie. NOTE: Instructor will email specific information and instructions several days before class.

Workshop Leader: Sue Ellen ThompsonAssonance, consonance, alliteration, internal rhyme—they’re often called “sound effects,” and they are among the most basic and essential tools that all poets should know how to use. This workshop will focus on how certain vowel or consonant soun...

Workshop Leader: Rob JollesMaybe you've toyed with the idea of writing a business book and sharing what you've learned with others around you. The fact is, anyone can write a book. The problem is, most people are stopped before they even start by the...

Workshop Leader: Brenda W. CloughVampires, zombies, and halflings with swords! Participants will build a world and write in it. The first session of this workshop will be devoted to the basics of fiction and story construction. In the second session, participants will do a st...

Workshop Leader: Elizabeth ReesIn this eight-week workshop, beginning writers will have the chance to explore three different genres: memoir writing, short fiction, and poetry. Each week participants will be given a writing assignment and several readings, to be followed...

Workshop Leader: Emily Rich and Desirée MagneyHaving a great story is just the first step to writing a compelling piece of memoir. In this class, participants will explore what takes a piece of personal writing “from draft to craft,” looking at elem...

Workshop Leader: Laura Di FrancoLearn the powerful secrets to using your blogs to build your platform! Participants will enjoy a powerful 90-minute workshop to help them learn the secrets to writing a great blog, including tips and tricks for getting engagement, followers, and ...

Workshop Leader: Judith HarrisThis workshop will focus on how autobiography mediates and revivifies past events that surface in some perfected, universalized form. Through writing prompts, and mini-lectures on poetic craft and history of the genre, participants will learn ...

Workshop Leader: Aaron HamburgerIn this workshop, participants will examine how to tell stories based on autobiographical material, whether in the form of a memoir or work of fiction. Writers will consider issues like the limits of memory, our responsibility to our s...

Workshop Leader: Melanie FiggStruggling to start—or finish—that story, article, poem, or essay? Committed to make real headway in the next six weeks? This class is for you. With short readings and weekly writing assignments, you’ll explore what keeps you from writing. ...

Workshop Leader: Kathryn JohnsonIt's often said that without conflict there is no story. It also holds true that strengthening the conflict in any type of fiction will bump up the tension and turn limp, ordinary fiction into an extraordinary tale that will keep readers turning p...

Workshop Leader: Patricia GraySpring! This can be your time to plant seeds of creativity. Begin by exploring imaginative forms of writing in a supportive environment. Fun prompts will help circumvent the analytic brain and give creativity a chance to t...

Workshop Leader: Richard WasherDialogue is the playwright’s primary tool for conveying a story that ultimately becomes a visual, aural, and emotional experience for an audience. In this workshop, participants will look at various functions of dialogue and will ...

Workshop Leader: Alyce MillerPoint of view is the most important (if not exciting) choice a writer makes. Through exercises, readings, and your own writings, you will discover the many possibilities of POV. NOTE: Instructor will email specific information and instruct...

Workshop Leader: Kathryn JohnsonYou may think you don't have the time, energy, or inspiration to write because of your hectic lifestyle. Wrong! Join us for coffee and pastries, and learn what professional writers know about organizing their time, establishing a productive wr...

Workshop Leader: Mary QuattlebaumLearn how to write a picture book from a successful author of more than two dozen award-winning books for children. Each session will begin with a short discussion of an aspect of writing for children, including story o...

Workshop Leader: Laura OliverThe human brain has evolved to biologically respond to story in specific ways savvy writers use to captivate readers. Learn to fulfill and exceed readers’ hard-wired expectations from the first sentence to the last. This fun and dynamic workshop will ...

Workshop Leader: Hank WallaceLead with the future -- not background. That's the most important of eight journalism skills that will transform your writing. The others: write your readers' language, be positive (to be both clear and upbeat), lay out logica...